Drilling-machine.



J. E. EVANS.

DRILLlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9. 1914.

1,M3,N& Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I. E. EVANS.

DRILLING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED |V|AR. 9 1914. 1 14,1? Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2' 9 M/MWQM Q enrrnn srarns ramm nmen.

JOSEPH EVANS, OF BEDFORD, INDIANA.

DRILLING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 9, 1314. Serial No. 823,439.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. Evans, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bedford, in the county of Lawrence and State of Indiana. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drilling-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application.

My invention relates to drilling apparatus of the type used in boring deep wells by means of a drillsuspended by a drill line and reciprocated through a walking beam operated by suitable motive power.

My invention has for its object an effective cushioned suspension of the drill line and tool such that any slackness in the rope will be instantly taken up and all whipping and snapping effect prevented, and all sudden strains upon the drill line and drilling apparatus avoided.

Further objects of my invention are means for-readily disabling the elastic suspension before mentioned; means for feeding the drill line down automatically'as the drill hole is deepened, and details of construction and arrangement by which the general construction of the machine is improved and rendered more efficient.

i'Vith these and incidental advantages in view my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the essential elements of which are recited in the appended claims;

In the drawings Figure 1 shows a side view of the principal parts of drilling machines embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a view at right angles with the view shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a detail partly in elevation and partly in section of the lower end of the piston rod and parts associated therewith; Fig. 4: a horizontal section on the line P l et Fig. 3,-and Fig. 5 a fragmental section of the valve arrangement of the cylinder. i

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in the several views.

The specific arrangement and construction of the framework of a machine to which my invention may be applied is immaterial, and -any' suitable motor may be employed for operating it. I have therefore not deemed it necessary to illustrate in full those parts ofthe machine, as they are not directly concerned with the present invention.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, the walking beam 1 is mounted upon an axle having bearings formed in a pair of plates 2 bolted or otherwise secured to opposite sides of an upright support or post 3 which is suitably supportc'd upon the framework of the machine. The beam is reciprocated by a connecting rod 4 which is pivoted to it at one end, and at the other end is pivoted to a wrist pin on a rotating member 5 driven by means of a suitable motor, not illustrated. The opposite end of the beam bears a pair of side plates 6 between which are pivoted a series of'grooved guide wheels 7, in the present instance three in number, the bearing points in the peripheries of which are arranged concentrically of the axis of the walking beam. Mounted upon the axle of the walking'beam, in a. mortised opening in such beam, is the grooved pulley 8. The'cylin-- der and piston and associated parts, which afford the elastic connection by which the drill line is suspended are in the present instance mounted on an upright plate 9 which is secured to one side of the post 3, facing toward one end of the walking beam, in the present instance toward that end through which the power is applied to reciprocate it. From the upper part of this plate 9 two webs or plates 10 extend laterally and support between them the cylinder 11. To the top of the cylinder is bolted or otherwise secured the irregular hollow casing 12, the interior cubic capacity of which is preferably about twice that of the cylinder. For the purpose of slightly retarding or damping the movement of the piston 30 in one-direction, I preferably provide a partition l3a djacent the upper end of the cylinder and separating the cylinder from the pressure chamber which is formed by the interior of the casing 12, in which partition is formed a valve seat or opening of large capacity, see Fig. 5. A valveAA, guided by a stem formed in a spider 14 fixed in the lowcrpart of the pressure chamber and opening upwardly, permits a free upward flow of the contents of the cylinder through the valve'opening," while a slightly restricted Patented June 15, 1915.

flow in the opposite direction is permitted through the provision of holes of limited capacity, shown in the present instance as formed in the valve, though they might equally well be made in the partition.

The casing 12 is formed with a pair of opposite bearing brackets 15 at its top, be-

tween which upon a short cross shaft 16,

is loosely mounted the grooved pulley 17,

having a groove of such capacity as to receive a considerable number of turns of the feed line or strap hereinafter mentioned. This pulley 17 is on one side provided with the clutch member 18, and on the other side is equipped with a plate 19 which is connected with the adjacent face of the pulley 17 forms-a second pulley groove, also of considerable capacity and adapted to receive a rewinding rope, as hereinafter explained. The ratchet clutch member 25 having feathered engagement with the shaft 16 is arranged to be shifted by the hand lever .46 into engagement and out of engagement with its corresponding clutch member 18, before mentioned.

ltigidly fixed to the short shafto16 is a worm, gear 20, with which coiiperate's a this end the link 42, attached at its top to the walking beam, is arranged to make pivotal engagement with the arm 41 at any one of several points along'the arm, the particular engagement determining the length of throw of the arm and consequently the extent, of its feeding movement. This llnk may be entirely disengaged to disable the feeding mechanism; and a hand lever 43 is provided for such feeding movement, or adjustment, by hand as may be desirable or necessary.

Below the cylinder, and secured to a pair of upper brackets 26 and a pair of lower brackets 27 which extend laterally from the 'lower part of the plate 9, are two pairs of vertical toothed guide bars 28, the teeth of which facevoutwardly. The piston rod 29 of the piston 30 is forked or slotted at its'lower end and at the center of the slot is provided'with a cross pin 31, secured by a, set screw 44;, which pin carries two oppositely disposed guide blocks 32 adapted to slide in the ways formed by the parallel opposing faces of the pairs of bars 28. See Figs. 3 and 4. The pin 31 is provided with an .axial bore,.through which extends the clamping bolt 33, equipped at one end with an internally threaded hand wheel 34. The bolt 33 serves to confine, and when desired draw into clamped relation with the pairs of tooth bars 28, a pair of oppositely arranged clamping blocks 35 which are normally held in outer positionand out of contact with such bars by springs 36 confined in recesses in the clamping blocks and bear ing against the ends of the pin 31. To prevent rotation of the clamping blocks upon the pin 31 while in outer position, they are constructed to make feathered engagement with such pin.

The pin 31, as will be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and 4, is shouldered at the inner faces of'the blocks 32, and upon the inner and larger cylindrical bearing surface, between the forks 0f the piston rod, is mounted a grooved pulley 37. Below the forked portion of the piston rod, at its end, is secured a small cylinder; 38 which works over a piston 39, suitably packed, the stem or rod of which terminates in a stub end, as hereinafter explained.

r The pulleys 7, 8, 37 and 17 above mentioned, preferably lie in one plane, and preferably, though not necessarily, the suspension or feed line 47 used in the machine is a flat strap or band. This strap is secured by a suitable clamp, as the clamp 40, to the drill line 45 and passes in turn over one or more of the pulleys 7 (according to the inclination of the walking beam), the pulley 8, pulley 37, and passes to the pulley. 17, around which the remaining portion' is coiled and to which the other, inner end of the strap is secured. Since ordinarily a distance of from three to six feet is drilled without readjustment, the pulley 17 is made of suflicient capacity to permit that length of the feed line to be wound upon it, in which condition the clamp 40 will of course be in uppermost position.

The larger, upper cylinder 11 is filled with a liquid, preferably oil, which serves both to seal and lubricate the piston, to.

approximately the same level as the valve 44. The pressure chamber above the oil contains air or other gaseous fluid which is kept at such pressure that the weight of the suspended drilling apparatus will be balanced when the piston is near the lower end of the cylinder. This pressure may be maintained by open communication through a constant source of air supply maintained at a proper pressure; or through a pressure reducing valve (preferably having means for regulating the amount of reduction) connected with a supply of air at high pressure; but a more simple, and an efficient means for the purpose consists of a simple air pump, by means of which the air in the pressure or cushioning chamber may be pumped through an ordinary check valve to each pressure as to balance the drilling equipment in use at the time, with the piston at its proper lower position. Such slight leakage as may occur thereafter while the air is confined will result only in the piston rising to a slightly higher position.

The small cylinder 38 attached to the lower end of the piston rod 29 is also sealed with oil and packed hydraulically, and supplied with air under pressure. The piston 39 of the small cylinder is provided with a stub end which when the piston rod 29 of the large piston is below a certain point will contact a fixed. part of the frame of the machine. It is evident that the eflect' of this arrangement is to provide a highly elastic bufier offering a rapidly increasing resistance to the descent of the piston rod 29 near the limit of its downward movement.

From the description of the construction of the machine above set forth, the operation will be evident without detailed explanation. The drilling tools are preferably so adjusted as to strike the bottom of the drill hole at or very slightly above the low: est position which the lowermost position of the walking beam would permit them to as sume. However, owing to the elasticity of the Manila rope which is in general use as drill line, either alone or attached as a cracker to the lower end of a wire rope when depths of about a thousand feet ormore are reached, in practice the walking beam may be on its upward stroke while the drills are moving downward and when the blow is actually delivered by the drill, which stretches the rope through its downward momentum. The elasticity inherent in such a Manila rope takes up the strain in such operation and prevents breakage, but the inherent lack of stretching power in wire cables is such that if it be attempted to use one as a drill line, uncushioned, the sudden snapping strain which results as the drill on its downward stroke is opposed by the pull of the upward stroke of the walking beam is destructive to the cable. In my improved ,machine this strain is cushioned by the air in the pressure chamber, and as the vertical clamp movement is twice that of the piston and the rope movement is all taken up by rotary bearings, the drill line is provided with a very elastic cushion ex tending through a considerable range of movement, and the use of a wire cable as a drill line rendered practicable. It is important that this elastic cushioning 'efi'ect exist to the fullest extent during the upward pull upon the drill line, and this is permitted by the upwardly opening valve 44, which does not retard the upward movement of the piston. On the other hand it is desirable that upon the downward movement of the feed line and attached drill line, the movement ot' the piston shall be slightly damped, so that the excess energy which has just been stored up in the pressure chamber shall not too actively take up the tendency to slack which occurs in the drill line at the top of its movement and during the earlier part of its downward travel. I therefore regard the provision of the valve 44 as a feature of value, although not indispensable to the operation of my machine.

In drilling operations it is necessary at times to withdraw a tool by means of link jars a well known tool having a lost motion connection by which an upward blow or shock can be exerted on the tool tojar it upward, and this is most eflectively delivered through an uncushioned or unelastic connection. Through the operation of the clamping blocks 35 the pulley 37 is held at a fixed point with respect to the framework of the machine, and the cushioning means disabled, thus attaining the object in question.

It will be understood that in drilling operations, the drill hole is cleaned out at intervals of from three to six feet. hen the drill line is detached from the feed line so that the former may be hoisted out, for this or for any other purpose, the expansion of air in the cylinder 11 will force the piston rod 29 downwardly until the stub end of the small piston rod 39 contacts with its stop on the bottom frame of the machine. The clutch member 25 now being shifted by the hand lever 46 out of engagement with the clutch member 18, the weighted rewinding line -17 will operate to rewind the feed line &8 upon the feed pulley 17, and the clutch connection being reestablished the feed line is ready to be reclamped to the drill line.

It is obvious that the cushioning chamber 12 may be formed as a continuation or part of the cylinder 11; and that in other ways the specific construction above described may be varied while retaining the essential features of my invention. My claims are therefore not intended to be limited to details of construction, except so far as specifically recited.

I claim:

1. In a drilling machine, a. reciprocating beam, a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam, and its opposite end anchored at a fixed part of the machine, a. cylinder having at its inner end a pneumatic cushioning chamber, and a piston in said cylinder, said feed line having a bight intermediate its anchored end and its point of suspension bearing against said piston, whereby said feed line is cushioned.

2. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam, and its opposite &

end anchored at a fixed part of the machine, a cylinder having at its inner end a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a pistonin said cylinder, said piston having a piston rod equipped with a pulley and said feed line having a bight intermediate its anchored end and its point of suspension engaging said'pulley, whereby said feed line is cushioned.

3. In a drilling machine, a reciprocable beam, a vertical cylinder having at its upper and inner end a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a piston in said cylinder, the lower part of said cylinder being filled with a liquid, and a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end anchored at a fixed part of the machine, said line having a bight intermediate its anchored end and its point of suspension bearing against said piston, whereby said feed line is cushioned.

' I. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, a vertical cylinder having its lower end closed by a piston and its lower part filled with oil and having a pneumatic cushioning chamber at its upper end, a valve seat and a valve opening upwardly adjacent .the oil level, openings being provided to afford restricted communication between the cylinder proper and the cush- 7 ioning chamber, and a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end anchored at a fixed part on the machine, said line having a bight intermediate its anchored end and its point of suspension bearing against said piston, whereby said feed line is cushioned.

5. In a drilling machine, a. reciprocating beam, :1 cylinder having a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a piston in said cylinder and a piston rod connected with said piston,

, guide ways parallel with the path of travel of said piston rod, guide blocks in said ways connected with said piston rod, a pulley pivotally mounted upon said piston rod, and a feed line having its working end suspended from said. beam. and its opposite end anchored at a fixed point on the machine, said line having a bight intermediate its. an cliored end and its point of suspension engaging said pulley, whereby said feed line is cushioned.

6. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, :1 cylinder having a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a piston in said cylinder and a piston rod connected with said piston, guide ways parallel with the path of travel of said piston rod, guide blocks in said ways, a pulley, a cross pin forming a common pivotal connection betweensaid piston rod 'and said guide blocks and said pulley, and a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end anchored at a fixed point on the machine, said line having a bight intermediate its anchored end and its point of suspension engaging said pulley, whereby said feed line is cushioned.

'Z. In apparatus of the character described, a cylinder having a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a piston in said cylinder, and a piston rod connected with said cushioning chamber, a. piston in said cylinder, and a piston-rod connected with said piston, guide bars having toothed outer faces and smooth inner faces forming ways parallel with said piston rod, guide blocks in said ways connected with said piston rod, a pulley, a cross pin forming a common pivotal connection between said piston rod and said guide blocks and said pulley, a clamping bolt extending axially through said cross pin, clamping blocks having toothed inner faces carried by said clamping pin, and springs for yieldingly holding said clamping blocks out of engagement with said guide bars.

9. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end wound upon and anchored to a feed pulley, and means operated by the reciprocations of the beam for giving said pulley a feeding movement.

.10. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, a feed line having its Working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end wound upon and anchored to a feed pulley and adjustable means operated by the reciprocations of the beam for giving said pulley different degrees of feeding movement.

11. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end wound upon and anchored to a feed pulley, a worm gear connected to said pulley, a worm meshing with said gear, and a ratchet operated by said reciprocating beam for rotating said worm.

12. In a drilling machine, a reciprocating beam, a feed line having its working end suspended from said beam and its opposite end wound upon and anchored to a feed pulley, a gear for giving said pulley a feeding movement, a rewinding pulley secured to said feed pulley and a rewinding line wound in reverse direction upon and secured to said rewinding pulley, and a clutch for connecting said gear with said feed pulley.

13. In a drilling machine having a walking beam, means for suspending a feed line from one end thereof comprising a plurality of small pulleys having the engaging points in their peripheries arranged concentrically of the axis of oscillation of said walking beam.

14. In a drilling machine, a Walking beam, a series of small pulleys having the engaging points in their peripheries ar ranged concentrically of the axis of oscillation of said beam, a guide pulley mounted on the axis of said beam, a feed pulley, a yieldingly mounted pulley, and a feed line extending in turn from its outer end over said series of small pulleys, said guide pulley, and said yieldingly mounted pulley, and being wound upon and anchored to said feed pulley.

'15. In a drilling machine, a walking beam, a series of small pulleys having the engaging points in their peripheries arranged concentrically of the axis of oscillation of said beam, a guide pulley mounted on the axis of said beam, a feed pulley, pneumatic cushioning means comprising a cylinder and piston and a pulley yieldingly mounted thereby, and a feed line extending in turn from its outer end over said series of small pulleys, said guide pulley, said yieldingly mounted pulley, and being wound upon and anchored to said feed pulley.

16. In a drilling machine, a walking beam, a series of small pulleys having the engaging points in their peripheries arranged concentrically of the axis of oscillation of said beam, a guide pulley mounted on the axis of said beam, a feed pulley,

said small pulleys in an approximately horizontal reach to said guide pulley, thence downwardly to said pulley mounted on said piston, thence upwardly to said feed pulley, the inner end of said feed line being wound up and secured to said feed pulley.

17.1n apparatus of the character described, means for cushioning a feed line comprising a cylinder having a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a piston in said cylinder and uv piston rod connected with said piston, a pulley carried by said piston rod, and a second cylinder and piston mounted upon the outer end of said piston rod.

18.1n apparatus of the character described, means for cushioning a feed line comprising a cylinder having a pneumatic cushioning chamber, a piston in said cylinder and a forked piston rod connected with said piston, guide ways parallel with the path of travel of said piston rod, guide blocks in said ways, a pulley disposed in the fork of said piston rod, and a cross pin extending across said fork and forming a common .pivotal connection between said piston rod and said guide blocks and said pulley. JOSEPH E. EVANS. Witnesses:

ALBERT SMITH, W. E. CLARK. 

